Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Camenker: Pro-LGBT Teachers = Nazi Guards

Brian Camenker of MassResistence is so unhinged in his hatred of gay people that, even on the Christian right, he sticks out as particularly bigoted. Speaking of efforts to protect transgender students in Massachusetts, he says educators who support such efforts are just like the Nazi concentration camp guards.

It’s insanity. I mean a boy cannot change his sex; your DNA does not change and you can call yourself something different, you can dress differently, you can take hormones, you are always a boy. The damage that this does to everybody, including the person involved and everybody around, is just unfathomable. These school administrators, you know I mean you think of them as what the Nazi concentration camp guards must have been like where they are doing this horrible evil and they are just taking orders or something, they believe in it. People need to rise up because it is only going to get worse.

In related news, Poe and Godwin were found dead in a seedy motel of a murder-suicide pact.

I don’t understand transphobia at all. Homophobia is at least in the bible. But I have zero experience with Transgender or Transexuality, but I have no idea why people are so incredibly appalled and hateful towards it. Where does this even come from?

…Transgender or Transexuality, but I have no idea why people are so incredibly appalled and hateful towards it. Where does this even come from?

Well, the link refers to ‘bathroom panic,’ i.e. conservatives think a boy is going to use this as an excuse to go into the girl’s bathroom and assault someone. Or just be a voyeur. Probably the thought of a girl going in to the boy’s room upsets them too.

There are umpteen reasons why this is a silly fear. But I almost hope its actually their real reason for opposing the transgender movement. IMO such prudishness is a much easier social attitude to fix than outright bigotry.

I don’t understand transphobia at all. Homophobia is at least in the bible. But I have zero experience with Transgender or Transexuality, but I have no idea why people are so incredibly appalled and hateful towards it. Where does this even come from?

My experience is pretty limited, but I have some guesses about a few factors.

1. It might be viewed as an extension of the meme that transvestites are deceivers.
2. Naturalistic fallacy.
3. Squeamishness from imagining the operation.
4. In some cases, insecurity or self-hate by those who aren’t as cis-gendered as they claim.

Brian Camenker of MassResistence is so unhinged in his hatred of gay people that, even on the Christian right, he sticks out as particularly bigoted.

Brian Camenker:

I mean a boy cannot change his sex; your DNA does not change and you can call yourself something different, you can dress differently, you can take hormones, you are always a boy. The damage that this does to everybody, including the person involved and everybody around, is just unfathomable. These school administrators, you know I mean you think of them as what the Nazi concentration camp guards must have been like where they are doing this horrible evil and they are just taking orders or something, they believe in it. People need to rise up because it is only going to get worse.

Perhaps in other statements Mr. Camenker distinguishes himself within the religious right. But not on this statement. This is a popular sentiment amongst conservative Christians; who also frequently deploy a Godwin, and unforced ones at that.

I have no idea why people are so incredibly appalled and hateful towards it. Where does this even come from?

It comes from the idea that you are what God intended you to be. A change in gender from what you were assigned at birth is a complete negation of God’s wishes. It’s an emphasis on the fundamentalist view of the absolute differences between the sexes and an affront to the paternalistic view of male superiority. Why would anyone voluntarily want to give up male privilege? Being a lesbian or a transman then becomes a lesser problem because it shows that someone wants to try to achieve a superior status of a male – even though it still goes against God’s wishes. You don’t have to worry about any kind of scientific understanding about gender identification.

But I have zero experience with Transgender or Transexuality, but I have no idea why people are so incredibly appalled and hateful towards it. Where does this even come from?

It challenges the existence of a gender binary. When you think about it, a lot of the social conservative worldview is based on a pair of strict gender roles. That’s why gays are such a threat (the Bible is really just an excuse), but transsexuals are even worse. The existence of people who are between genders or non-gendered means that this binary doesn’t exist, which is devastating to their worldview. You also can’t ignore the visceral reaction – these people were raised knowing that “boys are boys and girls are girls,” so having people that are both or neither causes some nasty cognitive dissonance.

As to why they focus on transgendered boys, I have two suggestions. One, many of these people are seriously misinformed on what gender reassignment entails. They can’t imagine anything more complex than “cutting it off,” so FtM transsexuals are just unfathomable. Two, gender roles are a lot more rigid among boys than they are among girls, so the reaction to people (especially young people) behaving outside of those roles is different. A young girl who likes boy’s things is a tomboy; a young boy who likes girl’s things is a sissy.

Crip Dyke, MQ, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaidensays

saying, “the operation” because you’re afraid to specify which operation is a symptom of this.

Saying, “the operation” because trans folk aren’t real in the speaker’s life and they can’t imagine the fact that a trans person might go in for a tracheotomy or laparoscopy is a symptom of demonization of trans folk to the point of unreality.

I think you’re likely using it just because other people use it that way, but you should know that no good comes of a transphobic, othering euphemism.

@andrewjohnston

Re:

transsexuals are even worse

You should know that using transsexual as a noun is considered rude by a lot of people. In the same way you wouldn’t say

“transgenders are even worse”

or

“transgenders kick some ass at political organizing”

you shouldn’t say “transsexuals are _______.”

You can speak of transsexual electricians, transsexual students, transsexual failures, transsexual superheroes, or just plain old transsexual folk.

@Crip Dyke, MQ, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaiden:

I’m terribly sorry that my statement in defense of an unfairly targeted group didn’t contain the proper, liberal coffee klatch-approved language. Please excuse my use of a technically accurate term. I’ll make sure to self-censor so that, in the future, I don’t say something that might theoretically be offensive to someone at some point in some place.

One day, my friends on the left are going to realize that this obsession over language just makes us look like trivia-obsessed loons. Yes, I’m sure your friends have convinced you that saying “transsexual” condemns the transgendered to a thousand years in the outer darkness, but all this lecturing really does is alienate potential allies.

It comes from the idea that you are what they think you should be, not what you think you are. “God” in this case is a stand-in for their preconceptions.

@andrewjohonston:

It challenges the existence of a gender binary. When you think about it, a lot of the social conservative worldview is based on a pair of strict gender roles.

Their entire worldview is based on binaries: everything is either/or: you are either “Christian” or atheist; you are either male or female; you are either gay or straight; it is either day or night; and on down the line, for every phenomenon you can think of.

Which doesn’t work all that well in a universe like this one, rendered in shades of gray.

Your example shows just how puny this Yahweh character is. He can even be over-ruled about that?! Why, it’s almost as if he’s only as powerful and easily frustrated as the people who claim to speak for him.

It makes one wonder.

And hunter @23 and andrewjohonston @17,

The authoritarians’ worldview is built on fear. There are a million threats to the Good People, who have to stay on a war footing at all times. No compromise with Absolute Evil is ever allowable, and they must also be ever-vigilant against enemies within the gates. They need an army, and “effeminate” men reduce the potential troop strength.

I wonder if they take cues from the cult of masculinity from Theodore Roosevelt’s time. They sure sound that antiquated.

Crip Dyke, MQ, Right Reverend Feminist FuckToy of Death & Her Handmaidensays